Stars win 5-4 in shootout after blowing 3-goal lead to Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen scored in the shootout and Dallas escaped with a 5-4 victory over the Golden Knights after the Stars blew a three-goal lead in the third period Thursday night.

Vegas' Mitch Marner forced overtime when he used his stick to keep the puck from leaving the offensive zone and then blasted a shot from the left point with 48.7 seconds left.

Mavrik Bourque scored twice for the Stars, who have won four of their past five games. It was the first multigoal game for Bourque, whom the Stars drafted 30th overall in 2020.

The Stars also got goals from Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston, and Jamie Benn and Sam Steel each had two assists. Jake Oettinger finished with 17 saves.

Marner and Keegan Kolesar each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, Ivan Barbashev scored and Reilly Smith had a short-handed goal. Smith has 13 career short-handed goals for the Golden Knights, two off the franchise record set by William Karlsson.

Adin Hill had 23 saves for the Golden Knights, who have lost five of six and are 1-6 in shootouts this season.

Two Stars reached career milestones, with Adam Erne playing in his 400th game and Johnston in his 300th. Johnston, who has not missed a Stars game since his NHL debut on Oct. 13, 2022, is the fourth player from the 2021 draft class to hit that mark.

Dallas scored in the opening two minutes for the third game in a row when Duchene took advantage of a vacated net to score his fourth goal in three games.

After Kolesar's equalizer 4:07 into the second period, the Stars scored three goals — two by Bourque — before the Golden Knights rallied with three goals in the third.

Stars: Visit the Utah Mammoth on Saturday.

Golden Knights: Host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

—

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) reacts after he was scored on by the Dallas Stars during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Ben Hutton (17) and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) try to knock the puck away from Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa (12) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque (22) celebrates after scoring his second goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene (95) celebrates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

JIKANDOR, Liberia (AP) — The announcement posted in the village has a cheerful tone: “BMMC is pleased to inform you that there will be a blast” at a mining pit nearby.

Residents told visiting journalists with The Associated Press and The Gecko Project that such explosions have cracked or crumbled homes during the operations of Liberia’s largest gold miner, the Bea Mountain Mining Corporation.

The journalists’ investigation into the company found multiple spills of cyanide and other toxic chemicals by its largest mine into waterways, incidents documented by Liberia’s environmental regulators in reports that were removed from public view.

But concerns go beyond the spills. The mining operation also has cleared 2,200 hectares (5,436 acres) of rain forest, an area six times the size of New York’s Central Park. Such forests are home to endangered species, including pygmy hippos and Western chimpanzees.

Half of Liberia’s forested area is covered by proposed or active mining licenses for Bea Mountain or other firms, according to a report last year by the nonprofit Forest Trends.

In villages near the largest Bea Mountain mine, other grievances emerged. Some residents asserted that the mining company had failed to deliver on promised training to help villagers obtain senior management positions in its operations.

Residents recalled the anger that spilled over in 2024 in protests against the mining operations that they said police ended with tear gas and deadly force. One woman showed what she said was a scar on her scalp from a tear gas canister.

“The blood was coming down and I fell unconscious,” Satta Surtual said. Police denied using excessive force.

These are the tensions that often underlay mining operations across the African continent, where experts say regulation and oversight can be weak.

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

An aerial view shows a forest where Bea Mountain Mining Corporation is conducting exploration near Gbargbo Village, Liberia, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Boima G. Kamara, who has lived his entire life in Jikando, is preparing to relocate because mining pollution has poisoned the river his village depends on, July 8, 2025, in Jikando, Liberia. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Residents express their disappointment with the failure of Bea Mountain Mining Corporation to deliver promises such as schools, hospitals and employment, July 11, 2025, in Gbargbo, Liberia. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Flomo Zaza, whose farm was invaded by displaced elephants due to deforestation, stands in his backyard garden, which he relies on to feed his family in Zaza village, Liberia, July 8, 2025. "They ate everything," Zaza said. "We don't have any place to go. We are going to die if it continues." (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Children play in the village of Jikando, Liberia, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Residents are preparing to relocate from their village after the river they depend on was poisoned by mining waste in Jikando, Liberia, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Hawa Manubah, a mother of 13, leaves the ruins of her former home, which she says was damaged by concussions from mining explosives, in Gold Camp, Liberia. "We were in the house when we heard the blasting sound-boom, and everyone ran away," she said on July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Satta Surtual shows a scar from an injury sustained during a protest in Gogioma, Liberia, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

People walk on through Kinjor, Liberia, on July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Marie Pearl stands by her house, which has developed cracks that she blames on blasting at a nearby mine site in Gold Camp, Liberia, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

A sign gives directions to the New Liberty Gold Mine, operated by Bea Mountain Mining Corporation, in Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

An aerial view shows Bea Mountain's N'dablama mine site and Gold Camp Community, Liberia, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Mustapha Pabai, the town chief, walks beside a polluted river, in Jikando, Liberia, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

An aerial view shows mining waste flowing into a large pond at an inland location east of Grand Cape Mount, not far from the Mano River in Liberia, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)